Boomerang

If there was one thing she was sure about

It was his love

He told her so

He would say “I love you so much” or “You are the joy of my life”

Sometimes he would even hint at marriage, he would say “I desperately want to marry you, but...”

She loved him desperately!

How could she not?

He was a rich man, an international businessman

She was a lowly salesgirl

Yet he paid attention to her

She remembered the day he gave her a ride

Right after she closed from work

She didn’t know what to think

What did he want?

He drove her all the way home, noticed she was living in a slum and swung into action

Within a week, he had rented a better apartment for her and she had become his official mistress

She was young and single

He was ten years older than her and married

The irony of it all was that she was his wife's salesgirl

That was where he first met her

His wife’s supermarket

That was why she got into his car the day he offered her a ride

She thought it would be rude to refuse his offer, she didn’t want to lose her job

She had absolutely no problem sleeping with him

It earned her extra cash and gave her a sense of security

He was also quite generous

Sometimes he would tell his wife he was travelling just to spend some days with her

His wife had absolutely no idea what was going on

He was a master strategist

He told her the dos and don’ts of their relationship

She wouldn’t dare misbehave

She knew where she was coming from

She knew where she wanted to be

He was the only person in her life who could get her to her destination as quickly as possible

At the moment, he had transformed her life vividly and things could only get better

She went to work on time, did everything to please her boss, and made sure she kept her head low

His wife was so impressed by her humility and dedication that the supermarket was practically handed over to her

She had everything she ever wanted minus one

She had left the slum, had a good roof over her head, a job and a man

The only but was…

The man wasn’t really hers

He belonged to another and she could never have him

She broached the subject with him

“You said you love me, you said you would have married me! Why don’t you divorce your wife and be with me”

He looked at her as if she had suggested something despicable and left her house

She begged him for several weeks before he came back

Since then, she never even dared to think about such a thing!

But it baffled her

How could he love her and not want to be with her?

How could he persistently complain that he didn’t love his wife and yet refuse to leave her?

She thought about it for a long time

Eventually she went to see her mother

She told her the whole story

How she met a helper who had been a blessing to her

How things could even be better but for the fact that the man was trapped in a loveless marriage

She knew the man wanted to be with her

If only his wife was out of the picture

Her mother didn’t know what to say

All they had known for many generations was poverty

Her daughter seemed poised to break the yoke of poverty over their family

And yet the man was married!

The man was miserable in his marriage

Her daughter was miserable because she cannot be with the man

The man’s wife was the only problem here

If they can find a way to unseat his wife, her daughter and the man would be together!

Misery would be a thing of the past

Poverty would be a thing of the past

Why not?

“Was it not said that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent taketh it by force?”

If they refuse to take a stand and breakthrough that moment, they may remain in poverty perpetually!

She told her daughter as much

When her daughter was leaving, she gave her daughter a substance

“Find a way to get this into His wife’s food! She must be the only one to eat it!”

Her daughter was elated

She had taken the first step into the threshold of prosperity

When she got to the supermarket the following day

His wife told her she had employed a new house maid

The previous one left rather abruptly

The new housemaid was only 13 years old, she couldn’t speak pidgin English very well yet

The only language she understood was her local dialect

His wife couldn’t speak the dialect

The good news was the new housemaid was from the salesgirl’s village

Would the salesgirl be willing to come home with her after work to help the new housemaid settle down?

She went home with his wife

She spoke with the housemaid

Promised her heaven and earth if she could run an errand for her

She gave the new housemaid the substance her mother gave her

“Put it in your madam’s food”

The new housemaid got the gist!

Later that evening, as she was preparing to leave, he arrived!

He was supposed to be on his way to a business meeting but after waiting for hours at the airport, the flight was cancelled!

His wife welcomed him

He freshened up, came to the dinning for his dinner

Housemaid served their food

They sat down to eat

She watched enviously from the sitting room

They ate, their three children also ate

Then the drama began

His wife’s tummy was on fire

His tummy was on fire

The children’s tummy were on fire

Housemaid had put the substance in the whole pot

His wife started vomiting blood

He started vomiting blood

The children fainted

“You this girl, what have you done!” she screamed at the housemaid

The housemaid stood there! Transfixed! Totally at sea as to what was going on

Neighbours heard the commotion, they rushed in

The family was rushed to the hospital

Only the children survived

Housemaid pointed at her

She pointed at her mother

Her mother pointed at poverty

Poverty pointed at death

PS: This story happened in Aba in 2009

Housemaid and salesgirl had since been in police custody

Cheating, like death, is very exciting!